Combustion chamber with sliding valve controlling fuel, air, and water admission



L. J. GEERAER'T FUEL., AIR, AND WATER ADMISSION 4 SheetsnSheet 1 lNvENToR LEON J GEERAERT BY y ATTORNEY Aug. 26, 1952 coMBUsToN CHAMBER WITH SLIDING VALVE coNTRoLLNG Filed June 1o, 194e Aug. 26, 1952 J. GEERAERT 2,608,058

COMBUSTION CHAMBER WITH SLIDING VALVE coNTRoLLING FUEL, AIR, AND WATER ADMISSION Filed June lO, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2.

INVENTOR LEON J GEERAERT BY ATTORNEY Aug. 26, 1952 L.. J. GEERAERT 2,608,058

COMBUSTION CHAMBER WITH SLIDING VALVE CONTROLLING FUEL, AIR, AND WATER lADMISSION Filed June l0, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 "In @D m..

INVENTOR .LEON J. GEERAERT ATTORNEY R1- 2,608,058 G VALVE CONTROLLING Aug. 26, 1952 J. GEERAE COMBUSTION CHAMBER WITH SLIDIN FUEL, AIR AND WATER ADMISS Filed June 1o, 194e 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 QN. mv

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Patented Aug. 26, 1952 i CONIBUSTION CHAMBER WITH SLIDING 'YALVEl CONTROLLING FUEL, 4AIR, AND

v"WAT-ERI ADMISSION L'eon J G''eraert, Br0olr1yn,`N. Y.

Application June 10, 1946,'seria1 No.l 675,604

2 Claims. (o1. cli-39.55) Y 1 The present invention relates to a jet motor and it particularly relates to a jet' turbine which is'driven by'a combined jet of ignited fuel and steam.

It is among the objects of the present invention to provide a highly efficient, self starting, vibration-less jet or turbine motor which will be oper- A`ated in one or morestages directly by-a jet of combustion'ga'ses and steam.

Still further objects and advantages will appear in the more vdetailed description set forth below, itbeing understood, however, lthat this more detailed description is given by way of illustration and explanation only and not by way of limitation, since various changes therein may be made by those skilled in the art withoutdepart-r =ing from the scope andspirit of the present invention.

A particular feature of the present invention resides in the use of one or more blasts 4or high pressure jets of liquid fuel combustion gases 'and water vapor or steam, which are caused to drive one or more rotors or lturbine wheels at a high In the drawings, which show several embodiments of the invention by way of illustration and lof Fig. 2,

Figs. 3,4, 5 'and 6 show arrangements of the multi-rotor units positioned in diiierentgroup- V*ings to supply power,

Fig. 7 is a sectional View upon-an enlarged scale'as compared to Fig. 1 of the'jet unit shown at the upper left hand corner oFig. l.

Figs. l and 7, the liquid hydrocarbon fuel or fuel gas under pressure which may be gasoline,

"kerosene, natural gas or'heavyfuel oils, the water `and the air are fed into Valve unit A Vhaving the bndy7 |80. The body |80 `has an inlet I0 for fuel.

LThe air and/or oxygenA are fedA Yunder l-pressure y ing seats 'at' I4 may `beA regulated after removal of the cap by nuts litolcoritrol andre'gulateproportiomnent of fuel, lair and-water. When the adjustment isproperjthe 'cap nuts I5 may be replaced and the pin or lock rod I6 may be inserted.'

In Figs. 1 and 7 the `valves I3I are shown closed.

The main control valvell reciprocats in a casing IBhaving-a' cap I9. Thereturnspring'20 normally presses thevalve I'I` inthe 'direction 2 I. The valve has a plurality of grooves 22 receiving the synthetic rubber sealing rings 23, which' separate the reduced 'diameter portions 24.

The reduced diameterfportions 24,-when opposite the valve seats I4, will permit passage of fuel, air and water. When the valve I'Ifis in position as shown in Figs. 1 and 7, the flow of fuel, air and water will be cut off. The valve I1 is moved against the spring -20 to 'open position through the roller 25 by thefcamf26. The cam 26 may be rotated through the shaft^21supported by the bracket '28.

The body member is held against the body member |80 with Atlie intervening Igasket |60. The body member |85 has tapped recesses receiving the threaded valveseat members 8| |82, |83 and |24. These valve members 18| `to |84 respectively receive the spring seated ball checks 29,30, 3| and-32. At .the bottom of the recess for theball check 30 is positioned the nozzlei'l.

From the valve II, the fuel passes the spring pressed ball check 29; the air splits'and passes the spring pressed ball checks 3|)` and'3l; and the Vwater passes the spring ball check32- The fuel (see Fig. 7) will then-pass through the passages 33 and'34, the ports -35,-the strainer |35, the chamber 36 and around the tip `of the nozzle passage 4I! in the nozzle v3l and then into -the 'chamber SI5. The balance of the lair will pass 'by the" passageway 4|and the annular chamber 42, the annular passageway r43 and the six con- `verging passagewaysju into'the chamberea The water willy pass through thebores 45 .and

46, the annular chamber, the circuitous passageway |0Il,`"the"spae '|0I, and the passageways |92 Land ma 'inte the chamber as.

In the'chamuer s avalent turbulente will be set up and the mixed jet of fuel, air andwa'ter will be continuously ignited by the spark plug 48 in the chamber 39 (see Fig. 1). The combustion mixer will be split by the separator |19 and Will then pass into the unit B through the turbine inlet 49 where it will impinge upon the cupshaped receptacles on each side of the turbine wheel (see also Fig. 2) giving a balanced eiiect. The turbine wheel 5| rotates in a chamber 52 upon a shaft 53 having the splines 54. The turbine Wheel 5I is desirably made of a high pressure heat resistant porcelain.

The gases after driving the turbine Wheel 5| are exhausted through the channel 55 and the external exhaust conduit 56. Each casing section 52 is provided with a cooling liquid inlet 51 and a cooling liquid outlet 58 and the channels 59 and |50 to form a Water jacket vE I.

As shown best in Fig. 2 desired number of units or casings 52 may be provided, attached together by bolts 62, |10, |1I, |12, |13, |14, |15, |11 and |18 and separated by gaskets 63. Each rotor or turbine member 5| is clamped between the steel carrying plates 04 which are keyed to the shaft 53 by the keys 54. The plates are shouldered at 61 to carry the carbon rings 65. The rings 05 are separated by the steel disks 56. In Fig. 2, the turbine wheel 5| and side steel members 64 are shown in section at left, in front elevational view at the center and the turbine wheel 5| is removed at the right.

The shaft 53 is provided with a ball bearing 68. The oil passages B9 and'10 are provided in the shaft 53 and the shaft 53 is encircled by the lubricant shield 1I which causes lubricant passing into the space 12 to be thrown onto the ball bearings 68. The steel ring elements 13 and 14 serve as spacers. YAs shown in Fig. 2a, the shield 1I has the fins or vanes 31| on its face which serve to fling out the lubricant upon the ball bearings 63. This will create an oil fog in the ball bearing structure.

In Figs. 3 .to 6 are shown arrangements in which units B of Vtwelve rotors 5| each are positioned to drive a mechanism. In Fig. 3, the inlet and jet atomizer units A are positioned to the outside and the turbine units B, each including 12 rotor or turbine elements are positioned closely adjacent the main shaft C of the mechanism to be driven. The reduction gear box D will reduce the turbine speed to that desired for the mechanism to be driven.

Fig. 4 shows in side View twelve rotor elements positioned side by side forming a complete unit B. The reduction gear box C is positioned at the left and at the right there is provided a coupling 500 to another unit B.

In Fig. 5, four of the units B are positioned around the reduction box D driving the shaft C.

In Fig. 6, twelve of the units B are arranged circularly around a shaft C with intervening reduction gear boxes D.

In the preferred construction with 8 inch outside diameter rotors, each rotor may develop 20 H. P. with 14 rotors in each bank and with 12 banks, a total horsepower of 6000 may readily be developed. With 6 inch outside diameter rotors each developing l2 H. P., a bank of l2 will deveiop 144 H. P. The speed of the tip of the rotor should not exceed '150 to 1000 feet per second.

' Normally the rotor speed will not be permitted to exceed 25,000 R. P. M. and this is reduced first 10 to 1 and then 2 to l so that the nal R. P. M. is in the neighborhood ofY 1200 R. P. M. in some Cases.

The hydrocarbon or other fuel and Water may be injected through passages I0 and |'2 under an air pressure of 30 to 150 pounds per square inch or more which air pressure is also directly connected at I I to the jet nozzle and these pressures are maintained even during idling of the turbine or rotors. The turbine is started merely by opening the main valve I1 after adjustment of the valves I3. The air pressure is maintained by a compressor driven by turbines, and the air pressure tank Will store air pressure into valves between operation.

Upon starting of the turbine, there will be a lag in the water or steam supply due to the fact that the iioW of water will be retarded a fraction of a second by passage of Water through the cirvcuitous passageway |00 and the air-fuel mixture 'will have been previously ignited and will build up a temperature of '700 F. in the chamber 38. When the water reaches the chamber 38 after travelling through the passageways |00, IOI, |02 and |03 it will flash out as steam. The temperature at the tip |91 of the nozzle 31 will not be in excess of 100 F.

Referring to Fig. 7, the combustion chamber 38 is formed by the central annular element |83 encircled by the element |81. The element |88 abuts the body B at the face 300 While the element |81 abuts the nose 30| of the element |80 at the face 302. The inner end of the chamber 38 is formed by the nose members 30| and 303, the latter having a central recess receiving the tip of the nozzle 3.1. The rearwardly extending skirt of the element 303 encircles the nozzle 31. The element 303 is clamped between the body member |85 and element |86 by the bolts |90. The gaskets IBI and |62 are positioned between the body member |85 and element |86 and the body B.

The pockets are offset, as shown in Fig. 2, and by being positioned on each side of the wheel 5| and being acted upon by the separated jet after passing separator |19 and throug-h the passageways 49 will result in a balanced driving effect on each rotor without side thrust.

Instead of porcelain, the rotors 5I may be made of high tensile steel.

The walls of the chamber 38 will be of a nickel steel alloy, while the adjacent parts may be bronze or steel.

As many changes could be made in the above fuel-steam jet motor and many apparently widely different embodiments of this invention could be made without departing from the scope of the claims, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is:

1. A combustion chamber arrangement to receive and mix air, fuel and water and feed the same to a turbine comprising a plurality of feed connections for the air, fuel and Water respectively, adjustable needle valves controlling and proportioning the feed of the air, fuel and water into each of said feed connections, a valve mechanism to open and close said connections having a valve chamber extending transversely across and communicating with said connections, an elongated valve in saidchamber having packing rings to separate said connections and form separate flow chambers for the air, fuel and Water,

a casing having a central elongated combustionv chamber. convergent toward the inlet and4 outlet Vends thereof and having a maximum diameter intermediate its ends, a central nozzle to feed the air and fuel from the valve chamber into the inlet end of said chamber, inlet feed means to feed the water from the valve chamber into the chamber at a point removed from the central nozzle and at a point adjacent the maximum diameter intermediate portion, said inlet feed means forming a circuitous passageway extending spirally' around the chamber substantially the full length thereof to obtain heating and vaporization of the water before admission to the chamber.

2. The arrangement of claim l in which there is an additional feed means for the air to receive air from said valve chamber and to conduct it into said combustion chamber at a point between said nozzle and said water inlet feed means.

LEON J. GEERAERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name l Date Marconnett Oct. 4, 1898 Schneider Oct. 3, 1905 De Ferranti June 27, 1911 'Williams Apr. 1, 1919 Slattengren July 14, 1931 Bencowitz et al. July 28, 1936 Belluzzo Mar. 16, 1937 Sprouse Jan, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Apr. 8, 1921 Great Britain N 0V. 19, 1929 Switzerland Jan. 2, 1906 OTHER REFERENCES The American Inventor, April 1906, vol. 15, 

